The world we cover at International Living isn’t the same one you hear about on the nightly news. We seek out opportunity—not ratings. This frees us, mercifully, from the “if it bleeds, it leads” mandate. So we can seek out the fortuitous instead of the unfortunate.

Take to the streets in Santiago, Chile, from January 3 to 20 for the Santiago a Mil international theater festival. You’ll find large-scale spectacles like “the noise of colors” extravaganza, a forest of paper giraffes, and outdoor performances of Romeo and Juliet.

The bane of cell-phone using travelers, the roaming charge is one of those expenses that can sneak up on you, ruining your happy memories when you get that exorbitant phone bill. Here’s a tip on how to save on these charges in France.

Coconuts and limes...briny breezes and salty skin…a translucent sea… This is Bocas del Toro, Panama. The risks of buying untitled property here keep me from recommending Bocas as a full-time retirement destination. But the fact remains that it continues to beckon to people from all over the globe with the brilliant, blinding beauty of its beaches.

Right now it feels like civilization has forgotten about this place. It’s the coast of Ecuador, running from north of Canoa to Pedernales. One of the last stunning and undiscovered stretches of Pacific coast in the Americas, it is now set to be developed. And if you are interested in buying best-in-class real estate at deep, early-in values, this is a stretch of coast that should be on your radar.

The aroma of coffee wafts through the open bedroom door. I wipe the sleep from my eyes and follow my senses to the kitchen, where I find a double espresso and a plate of fresh fruit waiting for me. My husband Gordon is making fresh-squeezed orange juice. He stops what he’s doing to give me a kiss good morning.

Louise Orr finds it hard to stay in. Though she retired early at the age of 53, she doesn’t have much free time. “There are days when I say, thank God I don’t have to be anywhere,” she says. “Days when I can just work in the yard, or read a book.” It’s not that Louise is tied down to a business or a job…it’s just that there are so many fun and worthwhile things to do.

Forty years ago, long before Under the Tuscan Sun was a twinkle in Frances Mayes’ eye, my parents-in-law bought a 14th-century stone house on a woodsy Tuscan hillside just outside the city of Florence. The foundation of the house dates back to the Roman period and the jagged bits of stone wall found on the lower terrace, underlining a stretch of silver-hued olive trees, is Etruscan.

When I first learned about volunteering in Spain to speak English with Spanish executives, my reaction was “What fun! I can meet and get to know Spaniards without needing any Spanish!” I instantly filled out the application. For that reason alone I would have done it. Of course, free room and board at a four- or five-star hotel in exchange for talking seemed like a good deal, too!

1. Pensioner’s. For expats with retirement income, this is usually the preferred option, since it requires no major capital investment. It’s the route I personally chose. You must show permanent income of at least $800 per month to qualify. An additional $100 per month income is needed for each dependent.